It felt muffled, as if I were submerged in water.

Shaking my head and blinking a few times, I saw a man looking down at me.

The hand that had covered my mouth was now wrapped around my waist.

“Are you alright?”

Alright? Alright? You kidnap someone out of nowhere and ask if they’re alright?

I scrunched my face in disbelief, letting out a hollow laugh, and he nodded slightly as if he understood.

“I understand this is a startling situation.”

As if it were no big deal, like bumping shoulders on the street, he gently set me down on the ground.

He acted with the courtesy of someone escorting a distinguished guest.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I turned my back on him and bolted in the opposite direction.

If a stranger knows my name, they’re definitely connected to Ivy. They’re never approaching with good intentions.

I planned to run with the widest strides possible.

But before I could take five steps, I had to stop in my tracks.

“What… is this?”

I was clearly wearing slippers, yet a warm sensation enveloped my feet, and soft, fine particles slipped through the gaps.

Looking down, I saw sand covering my slippers like silk, creeping up to my ankles.

Sand.

Confused by the impossibly fine grains, I whipped my head up.

A cold, dry, yet hot breeze slipped through my teeth.

The unfamiliar scene before me was so astonishing it was almost wondrous. Countless stars twinkled in the pitch-black night sky. So clear and beautiful, it felt like being in the middle of the universe. The full moon, bright even in the northern skies, seemed unusually large and grand here.

An endless expanse of massive sand dunes stretched across the open horizon. A natural landscape with no trace of buildings.

It was a desert.

“This is insane.”

Is this real? No way.

Unable to believe it, I covered my face with both hands, taking deep breaths in and out. But no matter how many times I looked, it was still a desert.

A breeze, both cool and hot, swirled around me like a whirlwind.

“Are you done sightseeing?”

As if he had anticipated my frozen, statue-like stance, the man’s calm voice brushed down my spine.

I slowly turned around.

“If you keep going like that, you’ll freeze to death. The desert night is too cold for those clothes.”

Behind the speaking man, I saw vibrant green trees.

Walls the color of sand rose in towering layers.

It was a city so massive it was hard to gauge with the eye.

Then, a huge iron gate opened in the middle of the wall, and men on horseback emerged.

One man galloped toward us, dismounted swiftly, and knelt before the man.

“You’ve arrived, Your Grace.”

A duke? I looked up at the man.

“Turn back.”

A duke who knows my name, and a desert…

The man extended his hand toward me.

“Come this way…”

Pretending to take his hand, I swiftly reached out and snatched the cloth covering his face.

He didn’t try to stop me, as if he no longer cared to hide his identity.

The cloth came off more easily than expected.

Dark blue hair, previously hidden, and dark skin were fully revealed.

Neat eyebrows and sharp, masculine features.

Golden eyes that seemed to hold the sun.

Damn it! I had hoped otherwise, but it was indeed Dante Ian, the third male lead.

Hillstain had said it last time—Ivy sent him to bring me.

Ivy must have made another move. Now she’s using Dante to fetch me.

“I thought you were docile, always smiling by Prince Edan’s side, but it seems that’s not the case.”

Perhaps displeased by my pale expression upon seeing his face, Dante’s tone grew slightly colder.

With a slight nod of his chin, one of his men handed him the reins of a horse.

“Let’s go.”

Dante extended his hand again.

“Let me go back.”

“I refuse.”

“But I—!”

“No matter what you say, it’s all refused.”

Cutting me off sharply, Dante scooped me up, slung me over his shoulder, and mounted the horse.

The sand on my feet scattered and swirled beneath me.

“Let me go!”

“Your courage to survive in the desert is admirable, but the magical beasts will appear soon.”

I stopped struggling instantly.

Come to think of it, Dante was at war with magical beasts in the desert, just as Edan fought them in the north.

Unlike the north, where countless beasts poured in daily, the desert didn’t see such frequent surges.

But beasts steadily appeared, trying to cross the city’s boundaries, so it always needed guarding.

The southern desert city mined extremely valuable gems, making it a crucial region for the empire’s finances.

“Stay still.”

Dante headed toward the city wall.

This wasn’t the time to waste like this.

The black book from the library and the one Maxim was supposed to fetch lingered in my mind.

I need to uncover Ivy’s secret as soon as possible!

Realizing I had no means of escape after being brought this far, I was locked in a room in no time.

The door closed with a thud after passing through a maze-like building bathed in quiet moonlight.

Looking around, I saw a large bed, likely a guest room.

Compared to what Hillstain did to me when we first met, this situation was something to be grateful for.

Looking out through a large, open window without glass, I let out a deep sigh.

It wasn’t bars, but there was no way to escape.

I brushed the sand off my shoes and lay down on the bed.

The desert night was supposed to be freezing, but the temperature here was just right.

Translucent lace curtains swayed like waves around the bedposts in the gentle breeze.

“Dante Ian…”

The third male lead. The duke of the southern desert. The ultimate kind man from the original story.

And the one least affected by Ivy’s healing powers.

Like Edan, he often used his abilities but tried to rely on potions as much as possible.

Thanks to his exceptional physical prowess, he preferred using his body over his abilities.

Of course, when beasts too powerful to handle appeared, he had no choice but to use his powers.

In terms of pure physical strength, he might even surpass Edan.

“Ivy, I’m fine, so don’t overdo it.”

In the original story, unlike Killian or Hillstain, Dante cared most about Ivy’s condition.

Ivy said she liked Dante’s kindness.

Blinking a few times, I recalled how different his demeanor was from Hillstain’s.

He was kind. Even if it was a kidnapping.

A smirk curled one corner of my mouth.

“Loves a kind man, huh!”

I decided I’d never trust a kind man again.

I was fooled by Jenald, so kind men are absolutely off-limits.

Look at today! He acted kind but ended up kidnapping me! Damn it!

Closing my stinging eyes in the unfamiliar air and breeze, I tightly pursed my lips.

“Ugh…”

Hot. Swelteringly hot. Too hot.

When I opened my eyes again, I was drenched in sweat.

The temperature, perfect at night, had skyrocketed as soon as the sun rose.

Scorching sunlight poured down, shimmering with heat haze.

Wearing the long-sleeved dress from the north, I leaned limply against the bed’s headboard.

The window frame, where no breeze entered, was so hot that the shade under the bed felt cooler.

Heat haze wavered over the desert dunes, where only a few white clouds floated.

The air was so dry it was hard to breathe.

“Hello.”

As a knock sounded, women in vibrant clothing entered.

The pretty women with bronze skin wore thin cloth covering only their chests and short, flowing skirts.

Seeing several in the same attire, they seemed like maids, adorned with ornate gold accessories on their arms and legs.

Carrying water jugs shaped like gourds with handles, they flinched upon seeing me, then exchanged glances.

“What, what are you doing?”

“Miss, if you stay like this, you could die of heatstroke.”

It’s true it was hot enough for heatstroke. But I wasn’t so delirious from the heat as to bare myself to strangers!

“Eek! W-Wait a moment!”

Before I could resist, the women mercilessly stripped off my clothes.

“Oh my, I’ve never seen such fair skin.”

“So delicate.”

Feeling their overwhelming gazes as if I were a curious creature, I was dragged into a large room across from the bed.

“Huh.”

There was a bathtub so large it could pass for a swimming pool.

White steam rose from the clear water filling it.

“Come in.”

A gentle-looking woman with black hair in twin braids nudged me toward the tub.

“Wait. You just said I’d get heatstroke, and now you’re putting me in hot water…”

Huh? It’s not hot water.

As my feet were half-forced into the water, I widened my eyes at the pleasantly cool temperature.